Story Time Reads: Oct. 1- 5

Story Time Reads: Oct. 1- 5

Print Awareness: Includes noticing print everywhere, knowing how to handle a book and knowing how to follow the written word on the page.

Why Is It Important?Children have to be aware of words before they can read them. Children need to know how a book works, which page is the beginning and end, what is right-side up and how the English language is read, left to right. When kids are comfortable with the mechanics of the physical package of a book, they can focus on the decoding process of reading.

What Can You Do to Help Build This Skill?• Read board books that your child can handle on their own; let them turn the pages as you read together.• Sometimes point to the words as you read.• Talk about print, even when you are not reading together. Look for letters and words on signs and labels and lists.• Point to the words in a book as you read. The child needs to understand that you are reading the words and not the pictures. • Use rebus books, which use a picture in place of a word, so the kids can follow along while you read the words. This reinforces the direction text is read, demonstrates how text represents an object and engages them in the reading process.